@sonship saidI suspect that you feel it should be "there was some ...."
@lemondropthere were some beautiful literature, poetry, etc, during that time but the writers of the bible were nearly illiterate
While you are concerned for literacy check the English grammar of your sentence above.
but "there were some ..." is correct (although sounding clumsy.
@philokalia saidMy first port of call would always be Shakespeare.
Your opinion is quite subjective on this one, lol.
Many non-believers regularly paraphrase Ecclesiastes or Psalms or Genesis just because those beautiful phrases are embedded in our English language.
there were some beautiful literature, poetry, etc, during that time but the writers of the bible were nearly illiterate
I would write it this way -
"There [was] some beautiful literature, poetry, etc. during that time. But the writers at that time were nearly illiterate."
Of course I wouldn't write that for real because it makes little sense.
The bible was written during a span of 1600 years. So I don't know what "that time" covers.
And to say the writers of the Bible were illiterate is also problematic.
The writer of Genesis illiterate ?
The writer of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy illiterate ?
The author of "the table of nations" - Gen. 11, writes quite well.
The high level of education and skill is evident in the detailed and technical description of all the physical aspects of the tabernacle.
The consistency of details about life spans is as carefully written as any modern legal document.
Come to think of it, I cannot think of ANY book of the Bible that displays an illiterate author at all.
Now a little exercise for you lemondrop.
Can you mention one other book (singular) that in as many words as are found in Genesis 1 through 11 deals with as many crucial aspects of the world and human society? Remember, ONE BOOK as a comparison.
The origin of time, space, matter.
The origin of life
The origin of the cosmos
The origin of humankind
The origin of the difference between human beings and all other life
The first man and woman
The origin of marriage
The first human family
The origin of the seven day week
The origin of death
The origin of evil doing
The origin of human clothing
The first divine promise to save humans
The origin of worship
The first murder
The first convict
The first nomad
The first city
The origin of agriculture
The origin of metal work
The origin of musical performance
The origin of polygamy
The origin of meat eating for humans
The origin of twisting God's words
The origin of tower building
The origin of occultism
The origin of the spread of humanity across the globe
In as many words as are written from Genesis 1 through 11 propose to us another single book ever written that covers in that amount of space so many critical matters about the world.
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@philokalia said"You have irrational expectations if you think that the exodus can be definitively proven through undeniable archaelogical evidence. "
That's a very common argument.
Yet, what would be expected to be found of nomadic people crossing Sinai and moving down around to the East of the Jordan, and then entering Israel?
Wanderers across the desert bringing items with them that they or pack animals can carry who just left a period of slavery -- it's not like they are going to stop to erect some large, ston ...[text shortened]... eck out:
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/exodus/exodus-fact-or-fiction/
Snigger
Now a little exercise for you lemondrop.
Can you mention one other book (singular) that in as many words as are found in Genesis 1 through 11 deals with as many crucial aspects of the world and human society? Remember, ONE BOOK as a comparison.
The origin of time, space, matter.
The origin of life
The origin of the cosmos
The origin of humankind
The origin of the difference between human beings and all other life
The first man and woman
The origin of marriage
The first human family
The origin of the seven day week
The origin of death
The origin of evil doing
The origin of human clothing
The first divine promise to save humans
The origin of worship
The first murder
The first convict
The first nomad
The first city
The origin of agriculture
The origin of metal work
The origin of musical performance
The origin of polygamy
The origin of meat eating for humans
The origin of twisting God's words
The origin of tower building
The origin of occultism
The origin of the spread of humanity across the globe
In as many words as are written from Genesis 1 through 11 propose to us another single book ever written that covers in that amount of space so many critical matters about the world.
It is a unique book, Genesis. Isn't it?
@Ghost-of-a-Duke
Yes.
And I notice you gave no alternative book to rival all the subjects covered in Genesis 1 - 11.
I think you neglected that because of the uniqueness of the Bible, particularly Genesis.
@sonship saidMost books are unique. Especially books of fiction.
@Ghost-of-a-Duke
Yes.
And I notice you gave no alternative book to rival all the subjects covered in Genesis 1 - 11.
I think you neglected that because of the uniqueness of the Bible, particularly Genesis.
Most books are unique. Especially books of fiction.
So ... No ... the Bible is not unique.
Then ... MOST books are unique especially fiction.
Still noted that no book, fiction or otherwise, have you proposed rivals Genesis in the subject matter it covers. All matters there are vital to human life, human society and the nature of the world.
Drown yourself in fiction then. Maybe you can get away from the word of God that way - inebriating yourself in entertainment, games, fiction, comics, flight headed fun.
Try to drown out the words of God by losing yourself in a stupor of entertainment.
@sonship saidGenesis is a collection of primitive stories and myths. (Often borrowed from contemporary mythologies from Mesopotamia and the like).
@Ghost-of-a-DukeMost books are unique. Especially books of fiction.
So ... No ... the Bible is not unique.
Then ... MOST books are unique especially fiction.
Still noted that no book, fiction or otherwise, have you proposed rivals Genesis in the subject matter it covers. All matters there are vital to human life, human society and the natur ...[text shortened]... t headed fun.
Try to drown out the words of God by losing yourself in a stupor of entertainment.
Where is the uniqueness.
@Ghost-of-a-Duke
I told you where the uniqueness is. You have a method handy to try to neutralize that. that's all.
SO THEN list one book as a collection scrap book of stories (as you allude) that itself covers such subjects in the amount of words from chapter 1 to 11 of Genesis.
The origin of time, space, matter.
The origin of life
The origin of the cosmos
The origin of humankind
The origin of the difference between human beings and all other life
The first man and woman
The origin of marriage
The first human family
The origin of the seven day week
The origin of death
The origin of evil doing
The origin of human clothing
The first divine promise to save humans
The origin of worship
The first murder
The first convict
The first nomad
The first city
The origin of agriculture
The origin of metal work
The origin of musical performance
The origin of polygamy
The origin of meat eating for humans
The origin of twisting God's words
The origin of tower building
The origin of occultism
The origin of the spread of humanity across the globe
In as many words as are written from Genesis 1 through 11 propose to us another single book ever written that covers in that amount of space so many critical matters about the world.
Your arguable method of neutralization is still ineffective to deprive Genesis of its uniqueness.
"Oh, its just a collection" you say.
Show us a similar "collection" then and then I'll say "Yep, one other book as a collection is LIKE Genesis."
This thread was a protest that the Bible is not beautiful literature.
No beauty at all ???
There are one hundred and fifty Psalms. Lenondrop sees no beauty at all in all of those Psalms.
Psalm 23 is revered as lovely. Lenopndrop would consider it maybe plain, mundane, certainly with no beauty.
The book of Job has been described as the greatest poetry ever produced. No beauty there for old lemondrop though.
The Song of Songs he would not consider of any beauty.
Ecclesiastes he would consider of no beauty.
The Bible has contained phrases which world authors have lifted and applied to their own works and concepts -
"the sun also rises"
"reap the wild wind"
"east of Eden"
"King of kings"
"the seventh seal"
"the good shepherd"
"Absalom, Absalom"
"back to the garden"
These are all either phrases from the Bible or phrases based on something in the Bible. Artistic people have borrowed such to adorn their own works of creativity for a long time.
But Lemondrop sees no beauty in the Bible at all.
"Sermon on the mount" - no beauty there for lemondrop.
"the Lord's prayer" - no beauty there. He may regard it as a ugly nuisance.
Paul's chapter on love in First Corinthians - revered by both religious and secular minds. But no beauty there about "love never fails" for lemondrop.
The Gospel of Luke has also be described as the most beautiful book ever written. I think most of the multitude of biblical movies in many countries about Jesus are based on the beauty of Luke's account of Jesus.
The story of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob as a chained account of God's faithfulness over generations to a family - NO beauty there for lemondrop. Maybe he doesn't READ the Bible.
The countless musical works and oratorios based on biblical texts by Handel, Bach, Haydn, even Beethoven all give somekind of tribute to the Bible themes. They seemed to think there was some beauty there to develop in musical form.
Western art without people, themes, places, stories in the Holy Bible are hard to imagine. Even in the Dark Ages when the Bible was locked up and away from the common people, art about Bible stories abounded. They obviously thought there was some beauty there to express and enhance their own creativity.
Oh well, nice grandstanding there lemondrop.
Do you see some beauty in Internet trolling ?
Listing the contents of a book (any book) and then asking someone to find a book that covers all the same topics is a nonsense.
I do not mean that your candidate has to cover all of the same matters. I would be impressed if your candidate covered matters AS BASICALLY PERTINENT to the whole human race and whole world.
They could be different matters. But AS MANY is what I ask of such a vital nature.
In that sense, all books are unique.
Okay. So you want to neutralize my arguing that the Bible is unique by claiming ... "WELL, ALL books are unique." I got it.
I've seen that clever move before, like, with the uniqueness of human beings.
Me: - "Human beings are unique among living creatures on earth."
Skeptic: - "All creatures are unique in themselves. Don't you there is NOTHING exactly like a cockroach? "
Okay. ALL BOOKS are unique. So what's special about the Bible??
I won't bother to argue against that line of reasoning.
Put the Bible on par with Knights of the Round Table or Tom Sawyer or Mien Kompf or Tarzan of the Apes. Go ahead.